Cloud-based storage solutions have definitely changed the way that we share and store our data. They’re cheap, convenient, and accessible from just about anywhere on the planet. Invariably, they’re also protected by a range of security measures.
Choosing a cloud storage provider means knowing which security features are important and which aren’t. Every year, there are thousands of data breaches, which collectively compromise the personal information of millions of individuals.
Retaining the trust of consumers and ensuring that your organization stays on the right side of the law is often a matter of picking out the right features.
Understanding Encryption: The Lock and Key
Encryption is at the heart of just about every privacy-related technology used on the modern Internet. It’s the practice of converting comprehensible data into a form that can’t be read by any third party who might have intercepted it and then converting that incomprehensible data back into a readable format so that the recipient can actually use it.
This is done using keys, which provide a cryptographic means of encrypting and decrypting the data. Without the relevant key, a cloud storage solution can’t operate properly. As such, it’s essential that keys are properly managed.
Encryption can take place at the server side, which involves placing trust in the people who own the cloud storage servers, or it can take place at the client side. Client-side encryption, also known as ‘end-to-end’ encryption, is widely considered a gold standard.
The Role of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Traditionally, a user who knows a specific password would be granted access to a given server (or a specific part of that server’s file system).
But passwords can be misplaced, forgotten, or guessed. As such, it’s a good idea to require many different forms (or ‘factors’) of identification. These might include specific objects (like a mobile phone) or biometric markers (like a fingerprint).
Modern multi-factor authentication allows many factors to be accepted. This significantly lowers the risk of a given account being compromised.
Navigating Compliance and Privacy Laws
Data privacy regulations are constantly evolving in order to ensure that users can operate on the modern Internet with confidence. In January 2025, various regulations came into effect in Delaware, Nebraska, and New Jersey.
These laws empower consumers to access, correct, and delete their data and require businesses to publish privacy notices and to implement reasonable data security measures.
Users might look for operators who are transparent about how they’re complying with these regulations and avoid those that are based in offshore, unregulated territories.
Zero Trust Architecture: Trusting No One
The ‘Zero Trust’ approach is becoming increasingly prevalent on the modern Internet. Take this approach, and you’ll trust no user, device, or application until they are proven trustworthy – even if they are already operating within the network in question.
This approach considerably reduces the window of opportunity for would-be attackers and thereby helps to protect client data.
